Free Web NovelChapter 3: A Ring As Strong As A Leash
Adrien sits on the bed, staring blankly at the surprisingly detailed diamond ring with a silver band on his finger.
"Fucking Vassilis..."
He’s not a pushover, nor a doormat. In fact, Adrien has been told that he has the fire of ten men— but of what use is such a flame when a single word from Orion could kill it?
"I’m not marrying you," he disagreed, faster than his brain could process the words. "I’m not fucking marrying you."
"Don’t flatter yourself, duckling. I torture people, not myself, so why would I want to marry you?" The only reaction he gets from Orion is an amused sneer.
It grates on him more than he’d like to admit.
"You just told me to wear purple for an engagement party. Don’t treat me like a fool, Orion" He tries and fails to keep his growing irritation out of his tone.
"But you are a fool. You always have been, and you probably always will...that is if I let you live that long." He shrugs.
Normally, Adrien’s brain would latch onto the insult, but the latter part of Orion’s words sends a chill down his spine—a very cold chill.
"You’re going to kill me if I...refuse?" His expression falters.
"Now I know why your scores were so bad in high school," he smiles, "you don’t really have much of a brain, do you?"
Another insult again, but Adrien isn’t going to bite that hook. "You’re the one who’s been talking about killing me, Orion. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t know the kind of person you are."
He watches as Orion tilts his head to the side, studying him in amusement.
"How fascinating. You claim to know me, you say?" His gaze drops to Adrien’s trembling hands. "So, you’re afraid of me?"
"I’m not afraid of you." Adrien bites back with more bravado than actual courage.
"You’re not?" His smile starts slowly. "Interesting."
"Just say what you fucking want, Orion. Stop playing this game and just come out with it." His voice comes out quieter than he intended.
"I told you, didn’t I? Purple engagement suits for both of us." Orion leans closer to him, blocking his view of the lights.
All Adrien sees are luminous, dark eyes that unnerve him down to his very being. For a person whose name means rising in the sky, Orion embodies the dark better.
"You just said we weren’t getting married."
"Be careful with that, or someone might think you actually want to belong to me."
"Just explain what you mean...please" Adrien pleads, desperation coloring his tone.
"I kind of liked that...beg me again."
"...please." He whispers, face burning in shame.
"One more time." Orion’s smile twists into something part amused, and part merciless.
"I...you...please okay! Just fucking tell me!" He yells bitterly, then turns away.
"No, that’s not how we’re doing this." He grabs his jaw in a painful hold and turns his face back to him. "You really should stop testing my patience"
He watches Adrien struggle to pull out of his tightening grip. "Let go of me! If you think I’m just going to let you— "
"You don’t get a choice, Adrien"
Adrien’s struggles cease immediately. He knows he’s no longer talking to the Orion from high school, the barely manageable one, now he’s speaking to the Basilisk of the underworld.
The one who would accept any sort of disrespect just to dish out unequal amounts of torture later.
"Face reality, duckling. The only reason why you’re still alive is because you somehow manage to tickle that spot in my brain...But I don’t need you."
Adrien’s jaw tightens, but he stays quiet.
"I just find you...amusing," he chuckles, "but I’m starting to get bored with this, and you’re no longer as amusing, so what do you think is next?"
Orion is smiling, but his smile carries no humor. A smart man knows when to fold, and Adrien likes to believe he’s smart.
"...please," Adrien whispers, "you wanted me to beg, so I’m begging...please, Orion."
He doesn’t answer, he just smiles.
Orion pulls himself off him and goes back to sitting where he sat before— where the poor hostess died. The silence in the room grows heavy.
Adrien reluctantly moves closer to him, pleading quietly. "Please, I’m doing what you wanted...so why aren’t you saying anything?"
He gets nothing from Orion but a small, flat smile.
"I...I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know what you were talking about! But I get it now, you said engagement, not marriage, right?" He pleads, grasping desperately at straws.
Orion says nothing.
It’s a calculated move he uses to break people and make them fall over desperately trying to please him. It only works because Orion Vassilis is a psychotic bastard who knows how to make normal humans tick.
"You want an engagement, right? So, you can get Louise back? Or to figure out why she left you for someone else? Is that it?"
He smiles languidly, like a cat, because he’s already gotten Adrien— not all sweet results come after violence. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"Kneel."
Adrien falls to his knees faster than he would have done for anyone else...faster than he would have liked. It shames him to realize that obeying Orion now brings him a sense of relief.
Like he’s finally doing something right.
He’s seen Orion do this many times before, and now, it’s his turn. He fell right into it without even realizing.
"What a good little duckling you are." Orion pats his head like a dog, dark eyes gleaming playfully. "It didn’t really take much for you to fold, did it?".
Adrien has no choice but to grit his teeth and swallow down the burning feeling of shame as he listens to Orion mock him.
He looks up at him and tries to will his mind elsewhere— to imagine that he’s somewhere else but here.
"I— "
"Now that you’ve finally put it together, you’ll be coming home with me as my fiancé." Orion caresses his face with a gentleness that makes his stomach twist.
"Hand."
The command shocks Adrien, pulling him out of his mind. "Are you...Are you really going to treat me like a dog?" His eyes burn from sheer humiliation...and fear.
He knew his fate was sealed the moment Orion Vassilis decided he would make a much better source of jealousy to Louise than any random off the street, but he didn’t expect it to be this way.
He didn’t think Orion would be depraved enough to strip him of his human rights...and what really scares him is that he could do it.
Both as Orion Vassilis and the Basilisk— he could do it easily.
"That does sound fun. I could collar and lead you around with a leash," Orion chuckles to himself, "but I’ll hold off on that piece of fun for now."
It took everything Adrien had to swallow down a sigh of relief.
"So...hand?"
He hesitantly drops his hand in Orion’s palm, burying all thoughts of how this makes him feel.
"You’re such a good little duckling." Orion sure is good at handing out praise that makes a man want to shrivel up and die.
Adrien watches in horror as Orion pulls out a gun— a silver diamond ring— from his pocket and slips it on his ring finger without much fanfare.
"Wow, I must be the first man in the world to get engaged to a duckling..."
